"America The Beautiful" Monument plates - Imperial & Westmoreland
Starting in 1969, E. Ward Russell commissioned a series of seven plates celebrating America's greatest landmarks. All were made by Imperial except the 1974 plate. This plate was made by Westmoreland as Imperial workers were on strike.

1969 - Red - "U.S. Capital" - Washington DC
1970 - Green - "Mount Rushmore" - South Dakota
1971 - Dark Amber - "The Statute of Liberty" - Liberty Island New York
1972 - Rubigold - "Monument Valley" - Arizona
1973 - White - "Declaration of Independence" - Philadelphia, PA
1974 - Black - "Golden Gate Bridge" - San Francisco, California
1975 - Yellow - "Mount Vernon" - home of George Washington

On the back and inside the collar base, each plate has the words "America The Beautiful" and a number (1 through 7) in a circle. There is also the makers' mark for Imperial or Westmoreland. Two photos at the bottom show examples of the back.

The backs of the plates also have various initials on them. E. Ward Russell had the initials of various employees of Imperial or Westmoreland placed on the plates to document their contribution to the creation of the plates. Per John Valentine the following initials can be found:

E.W.R. for E. Ward Russell
L.J.K. for Lucile J. Kennedy secretary of Imperial Glass during this time.
C.J.U. for Carl J. Urhman" president of Imperial Glass during this time.
B.M.H. for Bob Harty, plant manager at Imperial Glass.
J.W. for Joseph Wishar, mould maker & president of Island Mold Company
R.R. for Robert Roup, plant manager at Westmoreland Glass
J.C. for Jack Choko, sculptor for the plaster moulds
R.W. for Robert Workman, plant manager Imperial Glass

For more information on collectible plates from the 1970s, see;

"The Plate Collector's Handbook".